CKSCP Board Meeting
January 10, 2022

The meeting was called to order at 7:35 pm by President, Bob Herring. Also present at the ZOOM meeting were Mike Burns, Frank Clark, Sasha Etlin, Gail Bason, Steve Hirschberg, Ann Lampe, Jay DeWitt, Bob Derge, Jr, Bob Derge, Guennadi Maslov, Susan Neaman, and TJ White. Also in attendance was a guest, Dominic Bashford.

December Minutes: Bob Derge moved, with a second from Anne Lampe, to accept the December 13, 2021 minutes as written. All were in favor.

Treasurer’s Report: Bob Derge Jr. reported that our balance as of 1/1/2022 was $24,562.41 and the Certificate of Deposit balance was $10,190.39 for a total balance of $34,752.80. Bob Then presented the 2021 yearend report and the proposed 2022 budget. Actual 2021 expenses totaled $1,636.55 against income of $1,079.69 for a negative bottom line of $556.86 for the year. He explained that this was entirely because we did not have a full Open World (now COIL). He presented a proposed 2022 budget of $6,972.56 in expenses against $7,165 in revenue which would result in a positive cash flow of $192.44. Mike Burns moved, with second from Susan, to accept the Treasurer’s report and the proposed 2022 budget. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

Introductions: Bob Herring introduced Dominic Bashford as a guest at the meeting and asked him to say a few words about his interest in Ukraine. Dominic commented that he was a recent graduate and one of his interests was traveling, and especially traveling to Ukraine since his mother’s family was from Ukraine. He indicated visiting Ukraine a couple of times, mainly traveling to the western side of the country. Bob asked the board members to provide Dominic with some background on their individual interests and history with CKSCP. Each member briefly described their personal history with the organization.

Updates:

· Mike Burns and Susan Neaman reported that there are still plans to host a COIL program on Amalgamated Communities from September 16-24 in 2022. He will reach out to the presenters he previously lined up for a 2021 program on the same subject.

· Bob Herring reported on the recent publishing of the Winter Issue of the Gazeta. There were 213 recipients targeted with 194 successful deliveries. 107 opened the mailing resulting in a readership percentage of 55%. There were 19 emails that bounced back for a variety of hard and soft reasons. It was noted that most of the failed Ukrainian email addresses were due to having old Russian URL extensions. It was suggested that Facebook might be a resource for finding new addresses for the recipients.

· Bob reminded the board members that he was looking for headshots and bios for everyone for a probable spring Gazeta.

· Susan Neaman and Bob Herring reported on their attendance at the swearing in ceremony for Mayor Pureval and the new Cincinnati City Council members. There were several other Sister City organizations present and they enjoyed a lunch with the representatives following the ceremony. Bob noted that CINUSCA is working on a Sister City handbook to be shared with Cincinnati elected officials to better advise them of the Sister City relationships. He also noted that representatives for our Harare, Zimbabwe Sister City are trying to arrange for a trip to Harare which could be open to other Sister City organization members. Finally, Bob advised that CINUSCA is planning to host the Children’s International Fair again in 2022. The date has not yet been determined for the event.

New Business:

· Susan Neaman provided an update on recent discussions with Denys Tkachov regarding a desired visit to Cincinnati by his family, perhaps in March of 2022. He would like to use the visit to develop some relationships with local governments and other entities for future professional exchanges and training with suburban Kharkiv Oblast communities. Obviously, there are some COVID related issues to deal with to provide for a safe and healthy visit. There are some opportunities for hosting the family of 3, including Denys, Tatiana, and their 11-year-old son. Due to potential COVID concerns, there was also discussion about possibly housing the family in a hotel. Bob Herring asked whether the board might consider supplementing possible grant sources with a contribution toward any hotel costs if they become necessary. After discussion, Bob Herring moved to approve such an expenditure, if necessary. The motion was seconded by Jay DeWitt and passed by unanimous voice vote.

Around the Screen:

  • Jay DeWitt reported on news from Kharkiv, advising that a recent Wall Street article explained the Russian view of how Ukraine was historically a part of Russia, as well as local Ukrainian opinions that are contrary to that viewpoint.

  • Sasha reported that there were several recent celebrations in Kharkiv especially noting that 2022 is the year of the tiger in Ukraine. He also reported on difficulties related to snow and ice control in the city. He did not have any kind of detailed report on the massing of Russian troops on the eastern border.

  • Guennadi Maslov expressed his opinion that the average Ukrainian doesn’t seem too worried about a Russian invasion. It is viewed as Russian posturing due to concerns about NATO expansion to the east.

  • Dominic Bashford related that a friend of his in western Ukraine also did not seem overly concerned about a pending invasion, but he asked whether the current presence of Russian troops in Kazakhstan was a bad omen for Ukraine. Guennadi and others did not think this was the case as the leader of Kazakhstan had invited the Russians into the country.

  • Other board members commented that they are watching the news from Ukraine with great interest.

Next Meeting: Monday, February 14, 2022.

Jay DeWitt moved, with a second from Steve Hirschberg, that the meeting be adjourned. All approved and the meeting ended at 8:52 pm.

Submitted by Michael Burns, Secretary